28-Year-Old Woman in Wheelchair Dies in California Wildfires as Father Tries to Save Her, Says Aunt

A 28-year-old woman in Santa Rosa, California, who was missing since Tuesday after the deadly wildfires ripped through her city, was confirmed dead by her family on Wednesday.

Christina Hanson, who used a wheelchair, lived in an apartment next to her father’s house, according to CNN.

“Sadly, we just found out that Christina did not survive the fire,” her cousin, Brittney Vinculado, told the news outlet. The family had been desperately searching for Christina since the fire swept through her area.

“I’ve called every hospital in the area. I’ve called all of the shelters. I’ve called everybody that would take my call. I’ve called everywhere I can think,” her aunt, Cathy Riordan, said Tuesday.

Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register/AP

According to Riordan, Christina was frightened that she couldn’t get in touch with her father, Michael Hanson, so she called his ex-wife around 1:30 a.m. and told her she saw flames.

As the flames grew, so did her neighbors’ concerns. They told the family they called 911 to Christina’s property, according to CNN.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty

The news outlet reports that Michael, who is in a medically induced coma, suffered third-degree burns over half his body and was at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital before it was evacuated. He was put on a breathing machine and taken by ambulance to Saint Francis’ Bothin Burn Center..

Riordan believes that Michael was burned trying to help his daughter escape the fires.

“I know that’s how he got burned,” she said. “[He] was trying to save her.”